Aisha Buhari speaks on U.S. visit, Governor Fayose’s attacks

Aisha, President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, on Saturday said she was on a week-long visit to the United States of America to hold discussions with aid organizations on how to help the women and children facing starvation in the north eastern part of Nigeria.

Mrs. Buhari spoke in an interview with the Hausa service of the Voice of America, VOA.

“Our children in the various camps are in dire situation and the government alone cannot do it, we have to get help,” she said.

Mrs. Buhari said already, she had met with organisations known for promoting peace and provision of aids to displaced children.

Mrs. Buhari said she met with officials of the United States Institute for peace on Friday and assured them that unlike what obtained in the past, any aid rendered to displaced persons would go to those who needed them.

She also said she told the officials that what was needed now was not even cash because statistics had shown that children between the ages of five months and seven years were dying in large number due to hunger-related diseases.

She said the United Nations International Children Fund (UNICEF) had been providing aid packages containing nut-related supplements, which, she said, are produced in large quantities by Nigerian farmers.

Mrs. Buhari said she told the officials that there was need to set up a plant in Nigeria that could produce the package.

“It often takes between 6-8 weeks for these things to be shipped to Nigeria, before they arrive, many children would have died, so I suggested to them to set up the manufacturing plant in the country if they really want to help is,” she said.

Mrs. Buhari said she started pay close attention to the issue after recent revelations indicated women and children were dying of hunger in some IDP camps in Borno State.

Why I sued Fayose

Mrs. Buhari also said she sued Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, because he attacked her for no reason, while also raising false allegations against her.

She said Mr. Fayose had been insulting her and the president since during the 2015 campaign.

“At the time, he was not the only one insulting us, but people felt that it was just campaign,” Mrs. Buhari said.

“After the election, which we won and they lost, everyone else moved on except him and he extended his insults to me.

“I did not run for president. I am a married woman and I have never called his name. I never knew him. But as governor and chief executive, he kept insulting and raising false allegations against me, I have to respond and I decided to go to court.

“He made allegations over what he said I did here in the US, even though I have never met the people he mentioned.”

Mr. Fayose had dared Mrs. Buhari to visit the United States after he falsely accused her of having been indicted in the famous William Jefferson bribery scandal.

The governor insisted the president’s wife was named in the scam even after this newspaper’s investigation showed clearly she was not the Aisha Buhari mentioned in the case.